System Error

» 03: Is This Your Note Book?

Roy fidgeted for the third time, shifting in his seat and looking over his shoulder. He could feel a pair of eyes on him.

"Speedy, you good?" He gazed over the cafeteria behind him for another second, finding nothing out of the ordinary, before turning back to his friends, realizing that Jade had been talking to him, he tried to recall what she had said,

"Uh, yeah." He glared at Cameron as the teen laughed, taking in his dumbstruck expression. The chatter of the room was loud and he could hear Logan Bouy- more commonly known as Lagoon boy- complaining to his friends about having to tutor the infamously stupid Megan, for a second Roy wondered if Megan really was as stupid as she acted, he was faking it himself, but he brushed it off seconds later, what a crazy thought.

"Hey, Chesh," he heard Cameron ask, bring his attention away from Dick's entourage, only to discover that's what they were talking about, "isn't the new girl your sis?"

The look on Jade's face made Roy wish he had something more than a flimsy cafeteria tray and his leather jacket to use as cover, "How come she only started this school this year?" Cameron went on, either not noticing the way Jade's eyes had yet to move from where her sister was sitting, to Dick's right, or being too stupid to care.

"She used to go to the same school as Jade, but she got kicked out, just like her big sister!" A new voice chimed.

----

Dick turned his glare away from Roy as soon as the older looked in his direction, choosing to ignore the smirk Artemis was giving him and settled for gazing at the back of a certain redhead, meeting eyes with Zatanna every time she looked up from her book. His eyes flicking down to his phone, screen hidden from Artemis in his palm, seeing that his texting partner had yet to reply, he found himself looking back at Roy. A grin found its way onto his face as he watched the table of delinquents, for the briefest of seconds he thought Jade- known for her claw-like nails and troublemaking tendencies- was looking at him before he realized she was staring at Artemis.

"She used to go to the same school as Jade, but she got kicked out, just like her big sister!" A high voice he was painfully familiar with rang out, followed by a laugh and silencing the cafeteria, spite was dripping from Barbara's entire stance and he realized that he was so distracted he didn't even notice her walking to the table, only a few feet away from him, before she had spoken. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Artemis go ridged, before he was pushing his tray back, standing up, and placing his phone into his pocket,

"Enough." It was a simple word, but almost the entire cafeteria went stiff, the table of delinquents was almost as cool as ever, tenseness radiating from only Cameron, well the table of nerds was almost as stiff as everyone else, a light of amusement playing in the eyes of Wally.

"What?" Barbara turned her body away from the table and towards him, her eyes were wide and she looked confused, not expecting Dick to reprimand her in front of everyone.

"But I was j-"an excuse fell from her lipstick layered lips as she took a few steps closer to Dick, eyes set in a pout,

"I said enough." Resisting the urge to shift Dick remind still, his shoulders pulled back and his eyes focused on her. A few moments passed in which no one said anything, Dick remained relaxed and Barbara searched for something to help her.

Off to the side, there was a whispered "Wait, Bart!" But it was ignored.

A ruler was slammed on to a table, shocking the teen who was sitting there, and attention snapped to the front of the room. The guidance counselor, Mr. Wilson, stood, papers in hand and glasses set over his gray eyes, his white hair stood out in the room.

"I believe you all are supposed to be eating, correct?" His voice was lighter then it should have been and he gave a look to Dick before he turned on the heel of his dress shoes and walked out of the room, the doors swinging passed each other behind him. Dick looked back to where Barbara was standing and watched her re-take her seat next to Stephanie, her heels clicking every time she took a step.

Dick also sat down, aimlessly watching the mural of a bat, the school's mascot, that decorated half the cafètera wall, and occasionally eating a french fry from his tray. When the bell rang the doors and garbage cans were crowded as students left and headed to their next class, Dick was gathering his bag when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

----

Taking a deep breath and a brave step Bart slipped his hand free from Zatanna's grip and clutched the notebook he had found closer to his chest. His heart was beating fast and his mouth was dry, a nervous wave made his hands shake. You really couldn't blame him for being nervous, Dick was known for being both irresistible and impossibly intimidating.

Taking another steadying breath he watched as Conner wondered off with all of his tables trays and before he could stop himself he reached out and tapped Dick on the shoulder. The ebony paused and for a second Bart thought he was going to be ignored, but Dick straightened his back and looked down at him expectantly.

"Yeah?" Dick's voice was friendlier then Bart was prepared for and the disarming smile on his lips didn't help much. Looking over Dick's shoulder he made eye contact with Jamie, who gave him a reassuring nod,

"Um," Bart shifted on his feet for a moment, "is this yours?" He asked holding out the notebook so Dick could see. Dick's name was written in his handwriting across the top. Swallowing thickly Bart fidgeted, making eye contact with Dick, who seemed to notice his nervousness. Bart flicked his eyes back at Jamie, which a mistake because Jamie looked away from a steaming Zantanna at the same time and flashed him a confident grin that made his cheeks heat up slightly. Dick looked over his shoulder at Jamie and when he looked back at Bart he raised an eyebrow.

"Yep," Bart felt Dick gently take the notebook from his hands and place it in his bag, zipping it up and sliding one strap over his shoulder.

Bart nodded dumbly and turned to walk past the older, his eyes fixated on Jamie as a point of calm. All he wanted was to get out of here so he could listen to Jamie make fun of him for being so nervous and then they could team up on Wally and pester him about his mysterious texting partner.

Just as he thought he was safe he felt Dick's hand grab his wrist and stop his movements, then his felt Dick's breath on his ear, whisper a single phrase, and then he was gone and Bart hurried back to his friends, ducking his head to hide his bright red face.

"He likes you too"

----

Wally had stepped out of the room for a second, just one second, to see if he could flirt himself to extra french fries, and when he got back he found a series of amused text messages, his younger cousin a blushing mess, and Zatanna interrogating him mercilessly as they walked down the halls.

"What did he say?!" Was repeated endlessly for the rest of the day and looks followed the four of them wherever they went.

Stuffing his books in his locker Wally sighed,

Thank god it was almost Friday.